PENN ST: The Nittany Lions may be looking forward to the hardwood to distract from the football turmoil of the last year, but Patrick Chambers' crew will have a difficult time improving on last year's rough 4-14 record in the conference. The good news is they still have star point guard Tim Frazier (18.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.2 APG, 2.4 SPG) who is a workhorse on the perimeter, leading Penn State in points, rebounds, assists and steals last season. Jermaine Marshall (10.8 PPG) and Southern Miss transfer D.J. Newbill complete a strong backcourt, but PSU will be overmatched down low on a nightly basis.

NORTHWESTERN: Without the school's career scoring leader John Shurna, who carried last year's team with 20.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG, this Wildcats squad will face an uphill battle in the Big Ten. However, the other four starters are back for head coach Bill Carmody, led by the dangerous swingman Drew Crawford (16.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG), so this team should be able to rack up at least a few conference wins. Carmody is also excited to have a talented center for a change with 7-foot freshman Alex Olah able to score, rebound and defend.